Growth in house pricing is moderated, according to BBVA Research

The Real Estate Observatory by BBVA highlights the stabilisation of house pricing during the third trimester of the year and the major fluidity in mortgage credit

Good prospects for those who wish to buy a property and for the sellers too. The Real Estate Observatory by BBVA Research, one of the most reliable indicators of the sector, highlights that the first trimester of 2018 has concluded with an increase in buying and selling greater than previous periods. This circumstance has favoured that housing prices are continuing to rise, but at more moderate rates than before.

In accordance with the data from the General Council of Spanish Notaries, the sale of properties was contracted in the month of March, with 50,299 deals, which supposes a setback of 2.5% compared to February. However, this circumstance hasn’t stop the trimester ending positively, in which the residential transactions grew by 4.8%, an increase greater than the three trimesters which preceded it.

The appraisal values corresponding to the first trimester, published by the Ministry of Development, indicate that the average price per square metre is situated around 1,566.6 euros. This supposes an increase of 2.7%, slightly lower than the increase of 3.1% that was registered in the last trimester in 2017. For autonomous communities, the highest growth is given in Madrid (8%) and the Balearic Islands (7%), whilst the Valencian community is situated in the middle.

At the same time, the increase in credit has been reflected in the increase in the mortgage firm in the first trimester of the year. According to the CIEN data, in March they made almost 22,900 mortgages intended for the residential sale, 3% more than February and 3.1% more than the same month in 2017. This latter datum is significantly lower than previous months, but can be largely explained as a result of Holy Week.